Desperate Measures - One Direction
by Shebbzy
Summary: "I can't stand by any more, Louis." Eleanor shook her head. She had her arms wrapped around herself and tightened them when Louis reached out to her. "We can't... I can't be in a relationship that causes me this much trouble. I'm sorry. Barely cresting the two-year mark and she was done with him? Louis nodded, not saying anything and Eleanor walked away.
1. Chapter 1

Louis rolled his eyes; Niall and Harry were jumping around and throwing pillows at each other. They'd just gotten the list of the girls' names that were going to be in the video. The Irish lad and the curly one had taken it upon themselves to look up each girl on twitter. Only three of the fifteen girls had caught their attention, and they were excited for tomorrow; the first day of shooting.

The oldest member of the world-famous band wasn't excited- he was tired of it all. The girls would all be loud and annoying and they'd all want pictures with them. A video wasn't enough in their eyes. The last video girls had done nothing but brag about being in a video with them. It'd irritated the hell out of Louis; he'd followed them all on twitter out of courtesy before he'd met them and he grew to regret it. Now he knew better and he didn't follow anyone unless they were worth it.

Shooting tomorrow would have an extra sting seeing as Eleanor had broken up with him just last week. Louis hadn't been expecting it, but he understood why she'd had to do it. He was angry more than anything, and not hurt at all.

Harry plopped down next to him, displacing several fan-made pillows and distracting him from his thoughts. "Are you ready for tomorrow?" The curly lad threw an arm around Louis's shoulders.

"Yeah... It's not readiness that I'm worried about." Louis shot a half-hearted smile at his best mate.

"There's a couple girls that I think you'd be interested in, Lou." Niall offered around a bite of left-over chicken dumplings.

Louis scoffed and stood up from the floral couch. "I won't like any of the girls, Blondie. We both know that."

X

The following day spelled disaster in Louis's mind. Fourteen girls piled into the rather small meeting room and squished against the boys. The oldest band member weaved his way to the wall and the furthest point from any of the girls. Once he'd sat down, letting out a relieved sigh, is when he'd noticed there was someone there already.

The girl was slowly inching away from him while still trying to stay away from the other girls. "Hey," Louis stage-whispered at her and it came out as more of a hiss. She whipped her head to the side to look at him… And Louis was near blown away.

"Sorry," she stage-whispered back. "I swear I didn't follow you back here. I was here before everyone showed up…" The girl seemed to realize she was rambling and bit her lip.

"I'm Louis," Louis offered his hand; a small smile played around his lips.

The awkward tension snapped and she smiled, taking his hand. "I'm Amelia; I go by Mia." Louis couldn't take his eyes off of the girl's dimpling smile. She was gorgeous and he really didn't want to end up eating his words, he dropped her hand.

"Do you know what role you are?" He went through the girls in his mind and could pick out several who seemed like the type to be the main girl. Louis tried to picture where Mia would fit in.

"I'm the main girl. They told me I was the 'She's not afraid' girl." Mia shrugged, leaning back against the wall again. She hadn't even realized she'd sat forward.

Louis got cut off by the director walking in. The handlers asked the group of girls to follow them so they could be set up with hair and make-up. Mia and Louis stood awkwardly behind the rest of the boys, awaiting instruction.

"Ames, we need you to get your wardrobe situated. If you'll follow me please," A personal handler that Louis had never seen came and took Mia's hand. The guy obviously had come with her, but that wasn't the way they usually did videos. Louis stared after them, confused. Liam caught the older lad's arm and led him out to where they'd be getting ready.

"You like her?" Harry sat down next to his best mate, making sure to hold his head still. He was talking about Mia and all the boys had noticed that Louis had singled her out. The stylist was in on the match-maker plan they all had, and she put in her two cents as she finished up Harry's hair.

"Let him get to know her first," she swatted the curly lad's shoulder before moving on to Liam.

X


	2. Chapter 2

Mia came out in the dress and she looked like an entirely different person. The pink fabric clung to every curve her petite body held. Her hair was down and wildly curly in a way that even Danielle could be jealous of. Louis stopped on his way to the set and stared, speechless.

"Will they be mad, do you think?" Mia asked the handler beside her, leaning on him to fix her anklet-thing.

"Ames, they can't really force you to wear shoes. They begged to get you in here."

"I don't care. I don't want to sound like a diva. Maybe I should go put those heels on… I can't walk in heels, but I can try." Mia crossed her arms which made her chest spill out of the top of her pink dress. She was unaware of it, but her stylist stepped closer.

Louis decided to make his presence known when he saw that the handler had his eyes on the neckline of the dress. "Hey," He joined their little group and they walked out onto the set together. "The shoe thing isn't a big deal, Mia. Don't worry about it."

The girls all stared as Mia, Louis, and Kellin came across the wires spread over the ground. They'd heard that the girl playing the main role was a different label and had her own music. The rumor was that the boys didn't know about it. Mia came to stand with the other girls while the director gave instructions.

"Amelia, we'll be shooting the beginning scene in a couple minutes." Mia nodded and went to where he pointed out her starting place.

They wanted her to climb out of a two-story window. "Do you want to start shooting in the room or?" She tugged on the bottom of the dress, hoping to cover more, and got into the window.

The cameraman shot Mia grabbing her money and tucking her tube of lip gloss into the bra of her dress. She tiptoed to the window, easing it up as she threw furtive glances over her shoulder. Once the window was up she perched on the windowsill, ready to swing her legs out. "Camera two, are you on?" Camera one shouted, after asking Mia to stay where she was. When the affirmation came back, Mia was told to continue out of the window. She maneuvered carefully so that no matter where someone was standing, they couldn't see clearly up her dress.

Girls stood at the bottom of the tree, quietly urging her on and telling her to hurry. When Mia finally got to the base they set off to the party in a teal bug.

"That's good." The director called and everyone gathered around him. "Mia, that was beautiful. We're going to review the tapes and see if we need to reshoot. We may decide to shoot the party first and come back tonight for the sneak-out."

"Yeah, I thought it was supposed to be night time. 'Sneaks out in the middle of the night…' you know?" Mia stood leaning against the bug. The rest of the girls had wandered over to the refreshment table while there was a break in shooting.

Louis joined her just in time to hear her hum the last bit of a song he was sure he'd heard before. "What's that?" He wondered and she startled up.

"My… Uhm… Oh I can tell you." Mia bit her lip and nodded to herself. "Yeah, I can tell you. It's one of my covers."

"Your covers?"

"I'm a cover-only artist… That's how they label me anyways. I like to take songs and make them my own. My label wanted me because they think I'm unique and talented. They're idiots; there is much more out there than me."


	3. Chapter 3

"You're signed?" Louis asked. He was surprised and it pissed him off because that meant he'd begun to like her. Of course she was signed to a label. That's the only reason she got the role and the only reason she was here in the first place; to get some promotion.

"I really wish I wasn't." Mia shrugged and her voice was small. She didn't catch Louis's hostility. "Freedom is a good thing and I feel like I have none. There are so many stupid rules and-" She threw a sharp look at the boy beside her. "Can I trust you?" Mia implored.

Louis nodded stiffly, not meeting her eyes.

"I want out." Mia let out a deep breath.

"Shooting for the party scene is starting in five minutes. Get to your places," The director cut off whatever Louis was about to say, and the two quietly made their way over to the set.

The room was purposely darkened and had black lights set into the corners. A strobe light flashed in the back and the room was packed with people dancing to the Harlem shake. Camera Two shot Mia walking into the room of grinding bodies. When she smiled, tossing her hair as she danced, the lights in the room went up a tad.

They continued shooting up until the first Louis/Mia interaction. Mia was sitting on the couch with a guy on each side of her, flirting their faces off. Across the room, Louis caught her eye and she offered him a secret smile before turning back to the boys sitting with her. It was the perfect illustration of 'she doesn't want anyone to know/ I'm the only one that gets to take her home'. After that scene they moved on to the scary movie and kissing scenes.

"Are you okay with this?" Mia asked for the tenth time as she and Louis made their way into the basement of the building where the set was. She clutched his arm as they went; the stairs were narrow, steep, and dark.

Louis tried not to be objective about the hand on his arm. "I'm okay with it." He'd only said it twenty times. It sounded like he was trying to convince himself, though, which is why he kept getting asked about it. Mia wanted out from under the close eye of her label. And what had Kellin said? That Modest had _begged_ to get Mia into this video. She wasn't leeching, she wanted out… But Louis didn't want to take any chances when it came to his heart.

Downstairs, they curled up together on the couch. At first they were awkward with each other, but then Louis dropped his walls. They honestly fit together perfectly; it made him more comfortable with the entire situation. Camera one shot them watching the scary movie in which Mia had to laugh in the face of the horrors spilling out of the television set. After that, they had one practice kiss and then the shot one.

Mia's eyes were so bright. Louis's breath caught at how beautiful she was up this close. When she bit her lip in a shy gesture he smiled and gently tipped her head back. Their lips brushed first once, softly, and then Louis pressed forward. As the kiss deepened, the cameraman metaphorically patted himself on the back for never stopping recording. He'd caught all of the shy playfulness between the pair. It was pure gold.


	4. Chapter 4

Later, Louis took his break on the couch with Mia. While everyone else was upstairs or outside, the two disentangled themselves but sat close together to talk. Louis hadn't told her about El and she didn't seem to know.

"You have a favorite." He pushed. "All of our fans have a favorite. Tell me," They'd been on this point for several minutes and she kept giving him non-answers.

Mia groaned. "Why's it matter?" She really didn't want to tell him that he was her favorite. How would that look? She'd be just like every other girl he's ever talked to that tried to get with him.

"Mia," Louis pleaded.

"Niall. Niall is my favorite. Are you happy?" But her eyes told him that she was lying. Why would she lie about her favorite?

Louis narrowed his eyes. "I don't believe you, Mia."

"You don't have to, that's not the point." Mia scoffed and leaned back against the couch, farther away from her favorite member. "Now, back on subject: yes, they begged me to come for this video. I would have come when they asked the first time, but So So wanted to play hard to get. I just ended up getting Kellin to get me Modest's number so I could call and tell them I wanted to."

"Who's your favorite?" Louis persisted.

Mia let out an exasperated sigh. "Louis," She cocked a brow, piercing him with a look.

"I just want to know." He shrugged in defeat, but then his memory gave him what he needed. Mia had, when taken over by the lads, smiled her way out of captivity. When Louis had stopped her to talk, she'd been confident and not shaken at all. Her eyes, though, had given her away. They'd been closed off and shy the whole time she'd been around him. Around Harry and Niall, who were her supposed favorites, Mia'd been smiling and flirting. "I'm your favorite?" Louis asked in a quiet voice.

Mia's expression softened and a tiny smile played around her lips. "I thought it was kind of obvious…" Her shoulders mimicked his, climbing towards the sky.

Louis grinned, tucking his chin into his shoulder in a cute gesture of shyness. "Thank you. I don't know why any of the girls have me as their favorite… Everyone says I'm such an asshat."

"Oh, you are." Mia looked surprised. "That's why I lo-have you as my favorite. You're not afraid to be real, Louis." She sat forward again, pulling her knees up to her chest and covering her legs with Louis's jumper. The dress was a pain to sit comfortably in.

Louis watched her. "Thank you," He replied and his voice was soft. His eyes travelled her face and stopped to linger on her lips. Just as Louis was leaning forward to kiss her again, though, Niall came downstairs to get them.


	5. Chapter 5

Mia popped up from the couch. She tugged her dress down and, before sprinting up the stairs, hugged her favorite tight. Louis returned the hug, all the while glaring at his band mate. "What?" Niall's eyes still held the surprise that had registered in them when he'd seen them on the couch. "The break is over. They told me to come and get you two." He explained.

"Alright," Louis shook his head and shrugged past his band mate to get to the steps. Upstairs he saw Mia leaning against the counter in the kitchen; she was surrounded by Liam, Zayn, Harry, and several of the male actors. He didn't want to look possessive, so he plastered a smile on his face and went over to talk to the director. Lou's eyes were steady over the man's shoulder, focused on the little pink dress, while they spoke. "What's next?" He asked.

The director, a man of two and thirty years with the rest of his life looking very promising, was over his head with this video. He scratched his head and then smoothed his hair into a messy tousle. "I don't want to make this something it's not… I think we're going to start taking your guys' relationship into the spotlight more. We'll shoot you two out and about. Is that okay?" Michael was nervous and it wasn't without cause, the whole world was breathing down his neck for this video.

"How do you mean?" Louis's eyes narrowed a bit as he watched Harry tuck a stray strand of Mia's hair back into place. He halfway listened to the director's plan to take them out to the mall and shoot them shopping. Honestly, though, his eyes were trained on the hand Harry had left on the petite girl's shoulder.

Mia was blushing and she had her shoulders very carefully relaxed. The long, tan fingers that flexed over the bare curve of her arm had her blood racing. Yes, she loved Louis to pieces, but this was Harry _Styles_ touching her. "I know," She laughed. The reason the curly lad had kept his hand in place was to show how short she was. He was grinning ear to ear and dramatically leaning down on her by the time Louis walked over.

There was a strained smile on his face as he joined them. "Hey,"

"Hey Lou," Harry replied easily and dropped his arm from the petite girl.

"What did Michael say we were doing next?" Mia asked, getting Louis's attention by letting her fingers brush down his arm. He grinned at her and the smile was a lot more genuine.

"We're going to the mall."

Mia looked stricken. "I'm allowed to change, right?" Louis nodded and she took off back to her dressing room.


	6. Chapter 6

Roughly ten minutes later she and Louis were in the van with the boys and a couple girls. She'd changed into a pair of brightly hued teal skinny jeans. They were rolled a bit at the bottom to show off her lock and key tattoo on her left ankle. Mia also had on a midriff baring fashion top from Hollister. The little red-pink flowers had teal veins that matched her pants. The entire ensemble made her look a lot darker than she really was. It also made it hard for Louis to keep his eyes off of her.

In the backseat the cameraman was sneakily filming the pair as they chatted animatedly with each other and everyone else. One of the other video girls was doing the same, live twit-casting it to her followers from her phone. The girl put her mobile away as they turned into the mall's parking lot. The cameraman kept his ready and rolling and was not disappointed; Louis took Mia's hand to help her from the car.

Inside, the director told them to head to Jack Wills where they would have the entire store to themselves. The actors piled in and took up places around the store while Michael told the cashier to just act natural.

Louis followed Mia, who had bee-lined straight for the sheer lace tops. "Do you like this?" She held one up to her body and quirked her lips, looking down at herself. He nodded, paying more attention to her mouth than the shirt.

"Okay everyone ready?" The director called and when he got an affirmation he signaled the cameraman forward. With a camera on them, they didn't change too much; Mia and Louis ignored it.

"I actually brought money," Mia whispered when Louis leaned down to look at the size of a shirt he liked.

"I didn't. I thought we'd be going somewhere else." He stood up without the shirt and the petite girl pouted. She lifted it from the rack and pressed it to his chest.

"Hold that, please." Mia went rummaging through the men's pants and came back with a pair of jeans that looked suspiciously like the ones he'd worn in the water-pistol picture. "Alright," She held the jeans up to him, gesturing for him to hold them to his waist, and then stood back to appraise him. "Perfect."

Louis smiled at her enthusiasm. Mia was beautiful when she smiled and when she didn't… just beautiful all the time. "You like this?" He gestured to himself with his chin and then pulled the outfit away to put them back. She snatched them from Louis's hands before they could reach the rack. "What're you doing?" He followed her over to the cashier.

"Buying these for you," Mia handed the cashier her card and waited for her receipt. When she turned around she saw that Louis had gone over to ask Harry something. "Louis?" She called and he came back over, tucking something into his back pocket.

"Michael's getting antsy; let's get back to the cameraman." Louis took her hand, leading her back to the sheer lace tops.


	7. Chapter 7

Roughly twenty minutes later, the SNA cast members were in the food court and crowded into several tables. The boys had all noticed that their oldest member had bought stuff for Mia. They had also noted that she had bought an outfit for Louis. No one had missed the easy and natural attraction they had for each other. It was obvious.

Mia shot a fry across the table at Niall. "What are you staring at?" He'd been staring absently at her while he thought; he jumped when the fry connected with his arm.

"Sorry, I wasn't… I mean I was staring into space." Niall's face tinged pink and he studiously looked away.

Harry and Liam struck up a conversation with her about her career. They spent the rest of their lunch break discussing music and labels. After they'd gotten back to the set they moved lethargically around. Mia and Louis were told to just walk around the set with each other, pausing at some places to interact with the other members in the cast. Several hours of the popcorn shooting, as they called this technique, and Day One of shooting was over.

Kellin got behind the steering wheel and unlocked the passenger door for his charge. Mia and Louis were leaning against the picnic table talking, though. "Are you sticking around?" The oldest band member asked.

"I'm going on tour starting next month…" Mia shrugged, looking down at her hands.


End file.
